Stay, Stray, Play and Feast

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Okuya and Gerry’s Grill: Japinoy Fusion Feast

Okuya and Gerry’s Grill
Japinoy Fusion Feast

It was our first post holiday dine out and we intended to

eat light after an uncontrolled Christmas season feasting,

so off we went to the Piazza at Magsaysay for a hale and

hearty Japanese dinner at Okuya- but it was fully booked,

…so we decided to dine at Gerry’s Grill nearby.

The good thing with Gerry’s Grill is their varied

menu that also include healthy Pinoy dishes and

we ordered Sinigang na Salmon Belly sa Miso as

soup starter. We love Gerry’s Grill’s variety of

sinigang dishes as they had just the right degree of

sourness that keeps my family coming back for more.

Sizzling Kangkong a’la Pobre was also another

healthy fare that we ordered. This chewy, high fiber

and lowly swamp cabbage was cooked in a delicious

adobo style, bathed in oyster sauce and topped with

crunchy onion and garlic chips served in a hot plate.

The Grilled Blue Marlin Steak was also an easy

choice for a healthy dish as it is low fat but grilled

to deliciously juicy and chewy but tender perfection.

We always order Inihaw na Plapla, whenever we dine

in Gerry’s Grill as this is what they do best. Tasty, juicy

and very natural tasting perfectly grilled fresh tilapia.

There is nothing like it anywhere else in the city.

It was paired with Ensaladang Talong

which was just as healthy and delicious.

The juicy, tender and perfectly grilled Chicken Kebab, was very

delicious. It was served with pickled Kangkong stalks as side dish.

Everything was very delicious that we emptied the table fast.

Interestingly, every time we dine on more healthy choices, we

always end up eating more as we feel lighter even after we

consumed every piece and every morsel of food on the table.

Despite the hearty dinner, we were on a mindset that we were
supposed to be feasting on our favorite sushis and sashimis.
So to satsify our cravings- off I went to Okuya nearby-

....and ordered three Salmon Sashimis, and we all

gobbled them up with gusto like there was no tomorrow.

…they ran out of Tuna Sashimi so I ordered Laing Maki.

It was a blessing in disguise as Laing Maki is almost

always out of stock and I long wanted to blog about it.

Laing is an iconic Bicolano dish made of shredded gabi
leaves cooked in coconut milk. It is always eaten with rice so
it was just fitting that this would go well as a Japanese Maki.

This was a brilliant idea as the combination was perfect with the

delightfully sweetish rice, rolled in crispy breadcrumbs that

added a crunchy texture to the delicious Japinoy fusion dish.

Okuya’s Laing Maki is a work of a genius.

It took laing to a new level of culinary global

standard as it makes the dish acceptable even to

non- Bicolano and non- Filipino palate.

It is a dish that everyone should
try when visiting Naga City.

Read on the links below for related posts:

Gerry’s Grill 's Adobo Pork Ribs
Gerry’s Grill Magsaysay: Bigger and Better
Gerry's Grill: Hearty Pinoy Food Feast
Gerry’s Grill, SM City Naga
Gerry’s Grill Forever

Okuya, Naga: Affordable Japanese Food

Okuya Naga: Eat Good, Feel Good Restaurant

Okuya Naga at the Piazza

Saturday, January 23, 2016

Avenue Square and Convention Center: The Heart and Soul of Magsaysay Strip (Avenue Plaza Awesome Venue Series 7)

Avenue Square and Convention Center
The Heart and Soul of Magsaysay Strip
(Avenue Plaza Awesome Venue Series 7)

In early the 2000, Naga City’s Magsaysay District
was nothing but a desolate grassland until the

Avenue Square, and the Avenue Plaza Hotel

opened their doors almost a decade ago and made

that once forlorn area throbbing with nightlife.

Avenue Square and Convention Center is a three

level lifestyle center, the first two floors dedicated to

commercial tenants, mostly restaurants and coffee shops,

…and the third floor serves

as a modern convention center.

The first floor hosts some of its original tenants when

the lifestyle center opened like Shakey’s Pizza Parlor

that moved from centro, its original store since the 1980’s.

The first and the only branch of The Coffee Beanery (TCB), in

Bicol is one of Avenue Square’s original tenants when it opened.

Naga Oriental Wok, one of the best Chinese restaurants
in the city is also one of the long term tenants here.

Maki Yaki, Naga City’s very first Japanese restaurant is also

located at the first level and one of our favorite places to dine.

One should not miss Chili Peppers, a popular restaurant in the

city that also have several branches is Metro Manila. It was the

very first restaurant in the strip, so this is where it all began.

Originally located at the other side of the road, now occupied

by Yellow Cab, and how fitting it was, when this restaurant icon

where the strip originated moved to the Avenue Square, another

CamSur icon that propelled the glittery strip to what it is now.

My wife’s favorite jewelry shop, Finest Jewels,

is found at the second level of Avenue Square.

It has provided the two most important women in my

life; my wife with her daily jewelry needs, who even

served as one of Finest Jewels models in the past,

...and my daughter with some of the most awesome

pieces jewelries and brilliant trinkets that are precious

works of art and every teenage girl could dream of.

Although I never wear any jewelry they also serve

as tax free and inflation free investments for me.

Two of our favorite shops, Res Toe Run

…and Bratpack are also located in Avenue Square and these

stores have provided me and my family, specially the kids with

school bags and shoes that are affordable but of good quality.

There are other shops in Avenue Square

the cater other lifestyle and beauty needs.

^^Source: Avenue Square FB

The third level of Avenue Square is

a modern Avenue Convention Plaza,

^^Source: Avenue Square FB

….which served as a venue of major

local and national conventions in the city.

^^Source: Avenue Square FB

From being a desolate grassland, Magsaysay Avenue

had grown into a glittering strip of shops, restaurants,

…lifestyle centers, coffee shops,

….and hotels.

Despite the numerous business establishments
that continue to mushroom in the strip ,

....Avenue Square remained the heart and soul that
makes Magsaysay Avenue throb and glitter with life.

Read the Links Below for Related Posts

Avenue Plaza Hotel

Avenue Plaza Hotel's Café Plazuela, Naga City
Avenue Plaza Hotel's La Piazza
Avenue Plaza Hotel Spazio Room

Avenue Plaza Hotel, The Tent: Eat Love Laugh Valentine Show